Jane Ridley Reprises Role of Fanny Kemble in New York Production of "Mrs. Kemble's Tempest"

Jane Ridley, professor of theatre, stars in Mrs. Kemble's Tempest by Tom Ziegler, directed by Jerry Hodgin, at the United Solo Theatre Festival in New York City, on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 p.m. She was originally booked for one show on October 15, which quickly sold out. All United Solo shows are staged at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street. Tickets, priced at $18, are available at the Theatre Row box office and online through Telecharge at www.telecharge.com, or by phone from Telecharge at 212-239-6200.

"One-person shows require three things. Terrific subject. Good writing. And a strong actor. Mrs. Kemble's Tempest has all three in abundance." (Lancaster-Journal)

"Ridley is glorious...leaps from character to character...a laugh-out-loud show that rakes the heart." (Edinburgh Fringe Hairline [online magazine])

Ridley will retire at the end of 2013 after twenty-four years on the Penn State faculty. She currently teaches in the School of Theatre's professional actor training program. In summer 2013, Ridely perfromed in Penn State Centre Stage's productions of Good People and Doubt.

“My working life has been a meld of my own professional acting career with the training of actors for vibrant and enduring careers of their own—each part of the pairing feeding the other," she has said. "I have always learned so much from my students and at the same time always felt that my experiences in the world of the theatre gave me that much more to bring back to them."

Ridley's acting career includes Penn State Centre Stage roles such as Judith Bliss in Hay Fever, title role in Mrs. Kemble’s Tempest, Dotty in Noises Off, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, and her favorite role of all time, Vivian Bearing in Wit. Her professional acting credits include, in New York: Pan Asian Rep, La MaMa E.T.C., Lambs Theatre, and New Dramatists. Regionally: Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia; Mill Mountain Theatre, Virginia; Delaware Theatre Company; the Round House Theatre in Washington, D.C.; Barter Theatre, Virginia; Fulton Theatre, Lancaster; and seasons for the Orlando, Pennsylvania, and Utah Shakespeare festivals. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.